In relatively recent years, people have been exercising more to improve short term health and increase longevity. Swimming is known to be a desired form of exercise since it provides cardiovascular benefits with no or low impact. A conventional in-ground or above-ground swimming pool may be large enough to allow a user to swim laps for exercise. However, such a conventional swimming pool occupies a relatively large footprint, which is not always possible with some urban or suburban locations.
Partly as a result of such space constraints, swim-in-place bathing unit systems, such as for example swim-in-place pools and spas, are becoming increasingly popular and allow a swimmer to engage in swimming, particularly aerobic swimming, without the need for a full-sized pool. Swim-in-place bathing unit systems are advantageous over full-sized pools due to their reduced footprint, reduced water requirement, and typically lower installation and operating costs. Swim-in-place bathing unit systems can be used for, among other things, exercise, training, and therapy.
Several different configurations for swim-in-place bathing unit systems have been proposed over the years. Typically, such configurations comprise a water receptacle in which a propulsion assembly, including one or more water circulating means, is used to circulate the water to simulate the swimmer moving forward in the water. The water receptacle is typically at least slightly longer than a typical swimmer (typically about 9 to 12 feet) and at least slightly wider that a maximum spread between a typical swimmer's fingertips (typically about 5 to 7 feet). The propulsion assembly propels water against a swimmer and, in practice, may include pumps and one or more water jets directed such that a user can swim in a substantially stationary position against the force of the water released by the jets.
In some implementations, the propulsion assembly may be built-into the bathing unit system and may form an integral part of such system. Some examples of bathing unit systems in which propulsion assemblies have been integrated into bathing unit systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,038,208; 8,702,387; 5,044,021; 5,367,719; 4,001,899; U.S. Patent publication No. 2005/0170936 and U.S. Patent publication No. 2011/0271436. The contents of the aforementioned documents are incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, the propulsion assembly may be a separate unit configured to be installed, either temporarily or in a more permanent manner, in the water receptacles of the bathing unit system in order to provide swim-in-place functionality in such system and/or in order to retrofit an existing conventional bathing unit system. Examples of water propulsion assemblies configured as separate units have been described for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,526,820 and 6,789,278. The contents of the aforementioned documents are incorporated herein by reference.
In most modern propulsion systems, the force (or velocity) of the water released by the propulsion assembly can be set to different levels so that the strength of the water flow experienced by the swimmer may correspondingly vary. Typically, the operational settings of the propulsion assembly may be controlled through a control panel, which may include one or more user operable inputs in order to set the strength of the water flow to a desired level. The user operable inputs may typically be in the form of a tactile zone on a touch sensitive display screen of the control panel, a mechanically operated actuator (such as a switch or a push-button for example), a lever, a trackball, mouse, a keypad, turn-dials and/or turn-and-push dials among other possibilities. The control panel may be a control panel dedicated to the propulsion assembly or, alternatively, may be a control panel for controlling the operation of different bathing unit components in the bathing unit system, including the operation of the propulsion assembly. The control panel is in communication with a controller configured for controlling the operational settings of the propulsion assembly to achieve a desired force (or velocity) of the water to be released by the propulsion assembly based at least in part on the commands provided through the user operable inputs. The manner in which the controller achieves the desired force (or velocity) of the water to be released by the propulsion assembly depends on the nature of propulsion system and many approaches well known in the art are possible. For example, when the propulsion assembly includes an electric motor for generating the water flow in the water receptacle, the controller may be configured to adjust the speed of the electric motor, which in turn may adjust the velocity of the output stream of water from the propulsion assembly. Alternatively, or in addition, jets having variable nozzles may be present in the propulsion assembly and the force (or velocity) of the water released by the propulsion assembly may be controlled by varying the nozzles. Other suitable manners for modifying the force (or velocity) of the water released by the propulsion assembly may also be present in some existing systems.
Typically, prior to, or during use of the swim-in-place functionality of the bathing unit system, a swimmer may use the one or more user operable inputs to set the water flow force (velocity) to a desired level. For example, if a swimmer wishes to have a high intensity workout, he/she may set the strength of the water flow released by the propulsion assembly to a high level using the one or more user operable inputs prior to beginning his/her swimming routine. The propulsion assembly then propels water against the swimmer so that the swimmer can swim in a substantially stationary position against the force of the water released. If the strength of the water flow is too high, or if in the middle of a work-out the swimmer wishes to lower the intensity, the swimmer may reduce the strength of the water flow by again making use of the one or more user operable inputs in order to adjust the force (or velocity) of the water released to a suitable (lower) level. In such cases, for a swimmer to effect an adjustment to the force (or velocity) of the water released, the swimmer is required to cease swimming, to reach to the control panel and make the required selection using the one or more user operable inputs.
A deficiency with controllers and control panels of the type described above is that they do not provide suitable functionality for allowing the user of the bathing unit system to adjust the desired operational settings for the propulsion assembly in a relatively quick and convenient manner.
In order to alleviate this deficiency, various solutions have been proposed. For example, preprogrammed swimming routines may be stored in a memory. The preprogrammed swimming routines may specify different forces (or velocities) for the water to be released over a period of time by the propulsion assembly. In some solutions, a menu driven interface may be provided at the control panel through which a user can navigate using one or more user operable inputs and be presented with a set of selectable preprogrammed swimming routines. Upon selection of one of the presented options, the propulsion assembly is caused to release water at different forces (or velocities) in accordance with the selected preprogrammed swimming routine.
While such solutions may simplify the control of the bathing unit system in order to allow a swimmer to vary the swimming intensity during a work-out, the user is required to navigate through a menu-driven interface and make one or more selections in order for a desired swimming work-out setting to be achieved in the bathing unit system.
Against the background described above, there is a need in the industry to provide a method and a control system for providing swim-in-place functionality in a bathing unit system that alleviate at least in part the problems associated with existing methods and control systems.